Smaller Cinema Chains Avoid
Mistakes Made by Big Operators

Despite the glut of movie houses nationally and the woes of the best-known players, some smaller cinema chains say they are robust -- and are still expanding.

These operators claim to be avoiding the pitfalls -- too much leverage and too much growth -- that humbled several of the bigger circuits. "There are thriving smaller circuits around the country that didn't make the stupid mistakes the big circuits did," says Dan Harkins, owner of Harkins Theatres Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., with 20 theaters and 194 screens. The...